Yachiru: Past and Present
by ichirukifan101
Summary: When the first Yachiru died, Kenpachi didn't think he could keep living. Then, he found the second Yachiru, and she gave him a reason to change.


**Yay! Second fanfic is up! This one's on how Kenpachi and (first and second) Yachiru met/died, and the impact that they both had on his life. And yes, I am quite aware with the fact that the whole order of events thing is probably terribly off. No offense, please just accept it for the story...**

**And please review! Say what you really mean in them; if you hate my story say it, if you love my story say it. All critiques are welcomed!**

**Hope you guys like it!~**

**Disclaimer: sadly, I don't own Bleach. I can't draw to save my life, anyways… -_-'**

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><p>Everyone thought that the first Yachiru had died. Heck, even Kenpachi Zaraki thought so! After all, he had been the one to, one day, see her felled by a hollow. Just a stupid, weak hollow. That was how she had died. Kenpachi had been there, right next to her, and after killing the hollow like it was nothing, he came to her side.<p>

"Yachiru…" he muttered, softly, barely heard over the deserted, desecrated area of Zaraki.

And, since he could do nothing about it, since he couldn't heal well enough to seal up a pinprick, he just sat there. And watched her slip away.

Kenpachi didn't think that he could keep on living after that.

Her death had shattered him, affected him more than he'd have liked to admit. Yachiru was the light in his life, the one person who really mattered in his life.

With her gone, what was the point in living?

So, the previous Kenpachi Zaraki, the one that all he people in the Sereitei knew as a man who thirsted for adventure, feared nothing, lived for the heat of battle…suddenly became this empty shell of a man.

It was a drastic change. Nothing like having water slowly drip out of a hole. Nothing like having his spark slowly grow dimmer and dimmer every day. No. It was instant. Like someone had turned off a light. Snuffed out the flame that had been so evident in him before. Just like that.

Then, a little while later, he met Yachiru. Yachiru Kusajishi.

Thinking back on it, he still remembers exactly how he met the brat. He had gone to Kusajishi, one of the worst districts there was, in hope of a decent fight. One that could get him to actually want to do something. Like before. Because even Kenpachi noticed the change within himself. And he didn't like it.

So he had went there for a fight. And he found one. Just at that moment, he came across a whole group of bandits, looting a building. Heck, he could are less about the treasure. He wanted to fight!

And so, just like old times, he dove right into the heat of battle. Just like old times, he had a maniacal grin on his face, a feral smile and the glint of a sword being the last thing that many of them saw. Just like old times, he hacked and slashed his way through, the pile of bodies steadily growing. Just like old times.

But, he wasn't feeling anything. No rush of adrenaline that he would get, even from fighting the weakest hollow. No pleasure in swinging his sword around, hacking and slashing and stabbing everything in sight. No haze of red that covered his eyes, and had him enjoying the moment. Nothing.

Just a cold sort of emptiness in where his heart should have been.

Nope, he wasn't feeling anything. And, with that point in mind, he finished up the fight. It had been boring, anyways. None of them could even hold up a candle to his strength. And many of then had fainted just from feeling his reiatsu.

"Tch. Weaklings," he spat with disdain. The pile of carcasses lying behind him, the area looking like it had been a warzone a while ago. Which, in a way, it had.

He turned to walk out of the clearing, having nothing else to do here. Everyone was already dead, anyways. Then, a small, tinkling laugh brought him back. He looked at the pile of bodies and limbs strewn about. Where was that laugh?

He whipped his head around. There it was again! Where the heck was that laugh coming from!

"Come out and fight me," he roared, brandishing his sword, a feral grin starting to appear on his face.

And then, as he saw a slight movement behind one of the corpses, he saw her.

Left all alone beside a mountain of dead bodies, just a little girl with pink hair and eyes the color of blood. She was unique. And she wasn't scared of Kenpachi. No, not at all. On the contrary, she crawled out and started to play with his sword, still covered in blood from the men he just killed, and looked into his eyes fearlessly. And then, she just climbed into his lap. And fell asleep. Just like that.

And that started it. He'll never admit it, but that was when he started to live again. And when Yachiru woke up that next morning, he gave her a name.

"Yachiru," he said, almost cautiously. "From now on, yer name's Yachiru. Ye hear me, brat?"

He knew why he gave her that name. She reminded him of that first Yachiru. Every little bit. The pink hair. The seemingly fearless nature. Everyone else he knew looked at him with awe, and quite a bit of fear in their eyes. He was sick of it. And yet, this…toddler, was not afraid of him. No, not at all. Instead of fear, she looked at him with a sort of tainted innocence shining in those crimson eyes. No, she was different.

And so, he gave the brat _her_ name.

Everyone noticed the difference. How could they miss it? He had started to grin maniacally whenever there was a chance to fight, started to roam the districts looking for strong opponents. Like before. Everyone knew. Zaraki Kenpachi was back.

And all because of a little girl, just a small slip of a thing. A little girl with pink hair and blood-red eyes.


End file.
